While I surely do enjoy speculating about what neat great rifles are available for only $X, the sheer joy of plinking sometimes is of great value.

This weekend I took a couple of friends to the National Forest, where we met another old friend, and spent a couple hours plinking at various targets of opportunity. It was such a great time spent with friends, in the great outdoors, unmolested by anybody for 2 or so hours.

The 22 long rifle in a simple CZ bolt actioned rifle which seems supernatural in its ability to connect with good ammunition cannot be underestimated. Using simple Federal bulk pack, the old rifle just shot so well.

I like 22 LR rifles and pistols. My sons and I will play a game like HORSE where we pick a target (old soda cans with water are fun), a distance (anything with a safe backdrop will do) and a shooting position. If the chooser makes the shot, everyone else has to follow or they get a letter.

I'll also float clay skeet out on the pond. Those are fun to shoot and sink. I just make sure I get the kind that are supposed to dissolve - but not too fast.

All the talk about how deadly ammunition needs to be is too dark for me. Killing cans is what I like to do.

My .22s get the most action of all my rifles. Between squirrel hunting, plinking and serious target work, they just can't be beat. And even though I've thinned my herd- a lot- they still outnumber every other firearm I own.

The .22 is EVERY rifle in miniature. The fundamentals and skills needed to accurately shoot a center fire rifle at six hundred yards are the same for the .22 at one hundred yards. It's remarkable how closely the .22 mimics bigger rifles. But it's actually more difficult to shoot accurately as you have more time to screw up the shot. The slow velocity means the bullet is in the barrel longer. This then requires more concentration and follow through. Of course beyond all of the technical stuff. Whether you are in serious competition or just plinking the .22 is a kick to shoot.

They are indeed fun, both rifles and handguns. I have a great time with both my S&W 15-22 and Browning .22 semi auto take down model. For handguns the little Browning 1911-22 and Walther P22 are lots of fun. I like the idea of being able to put several hundred or more rounds down range without going broke.

Went to the range this past Friday to try some new loads I had worked up for my hunting rifle. Took my T-Bolt .22lr with me too...shot it while letting my hunting rifle barrel cool down. Completely blew out the 1" bullseye on a target at 75 yards. Love punching holes in paper with the .22!!!

Hey Woody, we play horse the same exact way you do sometimes. Shooter picks the shot and the position, That's a blast!

22 LR is perhaps the coolest cartridge of all. It's available in a myriad of platforms in both Handguns and Rifles. People of any ages can shoot them and it's low noise for the most part. I had my kids shooting 22 rifles when they were about 3 years old. That old Springfield single shot was a cool rifle but they outgrew it quick so we got them 1022's. They were busting squirrels at about 5.

I wanted them to shoot 22 pistols too, but the MK II was a little heavy for them when they were young, so I happened upon a nice used OM Super Bearcat (steel frame/brass trigger-guard) for them. That gun, is the premier kids 22 revolver, bar none. It's easy to operate for them and the grip is wonderfully kid sized. It takes 22 Shorts, Longs, or Long Rifle. That's a plus because those 22 LR's can be pretty darn loud from the Bearcat's 4" barrel. So we shot a lot of Shorts when they were real little. The combination of short barrel/ short arms on little kids is solved with 22 Shorts, even CB's for the littlest ones. It's wonderful to behold a little kid loading a single action revolver and doing it right, even load one skip one so hammer down on empty cylinder! I love going shooting 22's with kids.

I happened into a NAA Mini-revo too and concluded that they are not kids guns. They are too small for the kids to be able to handle and easily adhere to the 4 rules with any efficacy. The swept me with the little one more than they ever did with the Bearcat. I had to really watch them close with the mini-revo. All in all, 22's are very much fun.

Went to the range last Thursday, took my Mosin, a S&W 22A, an old .25ACP mouse gun I'm trying to get running right and my Savage MKII (.22lr). Wouldn't you know I didn't even get to shoot the Savage I was having so much fun with the S&W. I'm slowly bringing less and less guns each range trip.

I'm planning my next trip and it's going to strictly be some good quality time with the Savage.

I love .22s. I can sit in my back yard and shoot of rounds all day long and not spend 20 bucks. My Ruger 10/22 is about 10 years old and it has thousands and thousands of rounds through it and its still an awesome gun. I've wore out the factory mags a couple times because the springs got weak and no longer hold a round to the top without smacking them to free them up. Time for some new mags.

Another .22 fan here - about 8 rifles, a dozen or more revolvers and almost as many semi-auto pistols.

Since this is the rifle forum, I will mention my latest passion has been pump action .22s. I now have 3 - a Remington 572, an old Marlin Model 20 and a Browning BP22. I am left handed, so most bolt action rifles are out for me. Lever action and semi-autos were my first .22 rifles and I still like them, but the pump guns are fun to operate.

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If the horse don't pull you've got to carry the load.

bought a new scope so I had an excuse to go to the range. not that I needed a excuse. Sighted it in then we started challanging each other, speed shooting, one shot at a self marking target then one at the regular targetboard. first one to clear bottles, calling out different stances and hitting the self marking target. etc etc

I agree with you people as well. The often scorned .22 rimfire is the most often selected to go out and just have fun round for me as well. It is also the round that can cause me the most frustration as a shooter as well in that it is also the caliber I shoot bullseye match with. It amazes me how I can pop cans all day between 50 and 75 yard with my friends but getting that same size bullet to stay inside the black rings at 50 feet during a timed match can be so difficult.

I'm just a retired gentleman living out in the country on social security and .22 caliber rimfire is all I can afford but I love plinking in the front yard with my two Henrys and one Savage Mark II at sundown.

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